So I had what was, from memory, a chance to see how the ContiSportContact5's that were fitted to the car would perform as I boated my way around main roads and the M1 on my way to West End for some indoor rock climbing.

My verdict:

Even when I hit a patch of standing water, the front's did a great job of getting water out from under the contact patch. I felt one minor tug at freeway speeds on a large unbroken patch of water, but nothing untoward.

Really makes me glad that not only do I have the best mid-size sedan on the market at the moment, but in combination with some tyres everything keeps nice and composed.